New Buffalo Somewhere, Anywhere by: Steve Scully Tue:03-Apr-07 Label: Dot Dash Year: 2007 WB rating 59 out of 100

Do children ever annoy you? Sometimes, those innocent taps on the head with the toy hammer adopt a water-torture-like gravity; subtle, but excruciating. Now, don’t get me wrong, children are wonderful – they stand as an example of nature in all her glory, as images of humanity in its purest form – but even the best of us gets infuriated. Similarly, I like pretty sunsets, little baby ducks crossing the road, and the tinkle of a piano behind a slight, yet convincingly talented female vocalist. New Buffalo’s new record falls into roughly the same category as many of these things. Sure, it’s relatively inoffensive, but that little toy hammer is starting to cause stress fractures, and I’m not sure how much longer my skull will stand up to it.

The first track of Somewhere, Anywhere, ‘Cheer Me Up Thank You’, could very well be one of the year’s loveliest songs. The mix of harmonies, guitar, piano, a subtle vocal melody and nice, inventive lyrics: “I want you to pick up the phone/And hum the dial tone” is perfectly structured, and delivered with a simplicity that immediately showcases Sally Seltmann’s (New Buffalo’s real-world alias) songwriting nous. Despite its apparent minimalism, this brings to mind such opening tracks as Rufus Wainwright’s ‘Oh What A World’ or Fiona Apples’ ‘Extraordinary Machine’, its understated playfulness immediately embracing any listener.

This simplicity is the hallmark of Somewhere, Anywhere. Gone are the Bjork comparisons and the ambience of New Buffalo’s previous LP, The Last Beautiful Day, as Seltmann’s aim is to charm the listener with a more organic sound. Her voice is her main asset, the purity and surety with which she delivers her melodies – and the maturity evident through her songwriting – belies the apparent vulnerability in her voice. The harmonies throughout the record show that her control and knowledge of her vocal range and ability is of the highest order, using her voice where others might supplant an organ or cello line, exhibiting both confidence and innovation.

‘Innovative’, however, is not a word I would use to describe the majority of this record. As she delves into rudimentary chord progressions and the occasional Playschool-like melody, Seltmann fails to reach the impressive standard that ‘Cheer Me Up Thank You’ sets for the album. ‘Emotional Champ’ is one of the songs that harks back to the lush ethereal production that pervaded her previous works, yet it provides one of the album’s more infuriating melodies, and lyrics that are far too reminiscent of some bad hymns I had to sing at school: “We are one we are/Two people inside one body.” Similarly, the lyrics of ‘Versary’ – a track far too similar musically to the album’s third track, ‘City And Sea’ – are again trite at best: “You knew her name/It was written in the Sky.”

Nonetheless, Somewhere, Anywhere has definite highlights. The piano throughout has a beautiful, haunting echo, a quality that the album’s other stand-out track, ‘Stay With Us’, displays to perfection. This song is perhaps the most potently beautiful of the batch: its infectious melancholy attributable in part to the presence of Sally’s husband, Darren (of The Avalanches). No matter how lovely a song Sally Seltmann writes, however, there’s an overwhelming sense that I’ve heard it all before. For all its beauty, ‘Stay With Us’ track reminds me far too much of Cat Power’s ‘Where Is My Love’ or Counting Crows’ ‘Colourblind’ for it to be entirely effective.

New Buffalo may seem like a breath of fresh air in the context of the Australian music scene. With a voice that sits nicely in between Sarah Blasko’s tiring breathiness and indie favourite Clare Bowditch’s accessible, girl-next-door meanderings, Seltmann has already developed her niche market, and a fan base which will surely grow thanks to the radio-friendly, sonically-inoffensive tracks from this record. Unfortunately, the songs on this album are just not strong enough to make too much of a statement. As an EP, this may have made an impact – ‘Cheer Me Up Thank You’, ‘It’s True’, ‘City And Sea’ and ‘Stay With Us’ would definitely have made for a solid, above-average, $10 purchase – but as an LP, it drags.

By the end of the record, through repetitious, unimaginative song structure, and the inclusion of some questionable material – ‘Emotional Champ’ and ‘You’ve Gone My Friend’ to name just a couple – Sally Seltmann reveals that, despite her undoubted potential and ability, she still has a lot of work to do as an artist. Perhaps a new direction for her as a songwriter – definitely an honest, personal collection of songs – Somewhere, Anywhere is just a bit too much of a run-of-the-mill singer-songwriter effort: not boring or unlikable, just tiresome.